like hagel, william cohen was a republican senator before he was bill clinton's secretary of defense. >> i think he will face the same challenge in terms of people on the democratic side saying, hey, wait. we've got some pretty talented people that could step in at a moment's notice and fill that spot. and the republicans will say, why are you helping out a democratic administration? >> reporter: one key republican already is challenging hagel. >> i am concerned about many of the comments that he made and has made, like reference to, quote, jewish lobby, which i don't believe exists. i believe a pro-israel lobby exists. >> reporter: other insist hagel is not anti-israel. >> he belongs to a tough-minded, in this case, republican view of israel that, in fact, accepts the reality that while the united states and israel are very close allies and will remain close allies, their views on every issue cannot be expected to coincide. >> reporter: critics in the gay and lesbian community have turned around their opposition to hagel. in 1998, hagel opposed james hormel, an openly gay man to an a